Scott Cam has addressed his absence from promotional work in the lead up to the launch of the new season of The Block on Sunday night.
The Block host was in fine form on the screen as season 22 kicked off with Channel 9 this week but behind the scenes Cam revealed he has been laid up in hospital following major surgery.
The 63-year-old took to social media on Sunday night following a fortnight of medical treatment on his knee.
“You may have noticed I’ve been a little MIA before The Block kicking off tonight,” Cam posted on Instagram.
“I’ve been getting a new knee for the last two weeks to keep up with the grandkids.”
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Scott Cam has been laid up for two weeks following knee surgery. Picture: Instagram
The post was accompanied by images of Cam giving a thumbs up from his hospital bed.
Another picture posted by The Block host showed the dressing on his knee and him using a cane as he got back on his feet.
The reason for the surgery was unwittingly caused by one of the new contestants on The Block.
Victorian personal trainer Tayla was seen in the opening episode this week launching herself into Cam’s arms.
“Just before the show started, I had an arthroscope on my knee, and it was very sore,” Cam told media during a July 16 site inspection in Mount Eliza.
“[Tayla] ran from 10 feet away and launched onto me – I stumbled, I held on, and now on Monday, I’m getting a new knee.”
Tayla gives Scott Cam a very warm welcome… and wrecks his knee.
Cam assured fans he was recovering well, although he had yet to get off the painkillers used to manage the extreme discomfort he was experiencing post-surgery.
“The first five days were not good. Let me tell you. I’m at the back end now, I’m sweet,” he said,” he told Stav, Abby & Matt last week.
“I was on the heavy-duty [painkillers] in the early days because knee replacements are pretty big.
“Yeah, there’s a lot of pain involved. But now I’m at the back end. I’m going home on Sunday, and I’m still incapacitated a little bit with a walking stick.”
Cam posted to Instagram about the surgery as the new season of The Block aired. Picture: Instagram
Cam’s surgery news comes as the latest season of his hit show gets underway in Victoria’s Mt Eliza.
Viewers got their first look at the latest batch of teams that have spent 12 weeks building luxury homes on the Mornington Peninsula.
The Block 2026 was filmed at 109 Old Mornington Rd, Mount Eliza, on a 1.35ha site secured by Nine for about $11m.
The location gives the show genuine Port Phillip Bay views and access to one of the Mornington Peninsula’s best-known family markets.
But the expected $5m price hopes would put the Mount Eliza homes at about three times the suburb’s median house price, with PropTrack data showing the area had a $1.65m median for the year to January 2026.
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Cam is using a walking stick to help get around at the moment. Picture: Instagram
The Mount Eliza homes have already split property insiders before hitting the market.
Early Nine promo material showed sleek white luxury homes, but newer renders and construction images pointed to darker cladding, timber-style finishes, stone features and heavier landscaping.
The 2026 contestant line-up includes South Australian pastoral pair Jolene and Adam Wagner, Western Australians Rosco Wilson and Lisa Dunbar, Brisbane renovators Courtney Kain and Sevilay Keser, Gold Coast couple Chantel Green and Wyatt Randall, and Victorian father-daughter team Tayla and Rick Peroomal.
Nine will be hoping for a more successful season of The Block after last year’s Daylesford location failed to draw much interest from buyers, with two homes remaining unsold almost one year on from the finale.